Rhaya, the Goddess of Agriculture

The goddess of agriculture in the Korinthian Pantheon. She decrees whether or not a farmer would receive a bountiful harvest, and often requires a considerable offering in order for that to happen. With the help of Theria, she grew a fondness for beasts of burden and has a large golden bull as a companion to help her plow the fields while farmers sleep. She is seen to be very caring about mortals, despite her love of plants and their life cycle. She does not discriminate nor value one mortal over the other, however farmers tend to worship her more than most due to obvious reasons. Her depictions often show her with long flowing hair tied behind her head and holding a scythe with a bag of seeds.

Worshippers
Rhaya is seen by Korinthians as a critical aspect of the assumed cycle of life. Private land owners and destitute farmers (perhaps as a consequence of an unproductive harvest) visited the clerics of Rhaya for any divine suggestions for aiding the harvest. If at any time plague or drought struck the crops, farmers looked to Rhaya, since they hope she will save the harvest, due to her love of nature.

The church is an approachable one, in that it welcomed all irrespective of gender or race. The liturgical doctrine of the church was such that it attracts more females than males, due to its preoccupation with femininity, and while female attendees outnumbered men, there are still a range of males that worship Rhaya.

Rhayans maintain simplicity when it came to apparel. Druids prefer brown robes and priests prefer to wear a brown cloak with more standard livery such as a tunic underneath.

Her temples often have great libraries dedicated to agriculture.

Typical Worshipers
Though she has a diverse collection of followers, Rhaya is fanatically worshiped by peasants, servants, druids, gardeners, and any others who earn pay from working on farmland.

Clerical Practice
Clerics pray for their spells at sundown, as do druids. They usually lead dual lives as either gardeners or farmers, and were industrious people. They are expected to appreciate natural beauty and possess a feeling for meditation. The clergy instruct Rhaya's followers that they should make entreaties every sunrise. Compared to other faiths, ecclesiastics appoint few holidays. One holiday that was observed is a festival during Greengrass, which is a festival in which excessive consumption and uninhibited behavior were encouraged. Abundance is an important part of life worshiping the Great Mother. A rite of passage for many of the faith is concerned with Holy Communion. Newly married couples are instructed to spend their first night in fresh fields, supposedly to guarantee a fertile marriage.

The clergy observed and recognized the dogma set forth by Rhaya herself, and read the High Prayers of the Harvest at a perennial ceremony, which is usually at the start of harvest.

Her clergy are known for ministering in rural communities, and for their willingness to work in the community's fields next to the local farmers.